The Shade
by ZforZodiac
Summary: Derek finds himself in need of Stiles' help. But as always, things don't go as planned. Stiles finds himself with new powers that might also end his life, and Derek can't help but feel responsible. Their relationship gets tricky and as they struggle to sot through the feels, the pack has to fight against another threat... or threats rather... that have been drawn to Beacon Hills.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you have to go Malia?" Stiles forced himself to sound sad… well sadder.

His girlfriend was leaving for God knows how long and he doesn't feel like he's living up to the Hollywood break up scene. Malia smiles and gives Stiles a kiss.

"I have to find my mother. I'll do whatever it takes. I'm sorry, but I hope you can understand…"

Stiles understood. If it were his family he would be gone in a heartbeat.

"I do… I hope you find her… Good luck."

Malia nodded and walked towards Braeden's van. Braeden was kissing Derek goodbye, which tore at Stiles heart. Derek has the worst luck with relationships, and the fact that he finally found someone nice and she had to go and leave him to finish what she started just didn't seem fair to Stiles, especially after she told Derek she wouldn't think about it anymore. Stiles just wanted to see him smile… he loves when Derek smiles. The first thing you want to do is gawk at him considering how grumpy he always is, but his smile is contagious and Stiles always ends up with one on his face. Stiles' glad Braeden's going with Malia but still he couldn't help but feel for Derek. He wanted to just run over and give Derek a nice hug, but he doesn't think the feeling was mutual. All he could do was frown as the van took off and Derek stood in the middle of the road. They decided to meet up at Derek's because Malia had all her guns there, which Derek no longer needed with his powers back. Stiles decided to walk over to Derek and forget about the hugging.

"I'm sorry she left."

Derek looked down and sighed. "Yeah, me too."

Stiles felt his heart drop into his stomach, feeling nothing but sadness for the poor man. His family is either dead or insane and power hungry, his girlfriends either try to kill him or leave him, and it seems he can't have both his powers and a companion at the same time. This man has some kind of curse on him, and Stiles wanted to relieve him of his sadness so badly it hurt.

"Did you want to go back inside? It's getting pretty cold out here… or we can do this staring off into the distance thing if you prefer."

Stiles felt stupid, that was suppose to be a joke but it just sounded like he was mocking Derek. Luckily Derek seemed to cast it aside as another weird thing Stiles said.

Derek turned to him and looked a bit confused, "You don't seem sad that your girlfriend just left you, not sure when or even if she is going to return."

Stiles shrugged. "I don't really know why I don't seem to be as sad as I thought I'd be. Is that bad?"

Derek stared at him for another second and then looked back in the direction Braeden drove off in. "Let's just get back inside. We can add it to the list of weird things you do."

Stiles sat down on Derek's couch, while Derek grabbed himself a drink and joined Stiles on the opposite side, taking a sip and then turning on his TV to the news. The TV filled the room but the silence was still palpable between them. Scott and Kira were on a second first date, Liam was at a party with his friends, and Lydia was with Deputy Parrish looking through the bestiary. Stiles didn't want to leave Derek in the state he was in without trying to talk to him.

"Are you going to be ok?"

Derek let out a hollow and pathetic laugh. "Yeah. I'm use to being alone."

Stiles couldn't handle the pain in his heart, but he couldn't do anything. That was something he had to come to peace with a while ago. All of his friends have something to add to the supernatural table except him, unless you count the time he was possessed and forced to kill people against his will.

Stiles shook his head silently. "You're not alone. You have everyone… including me… here for you."

Derek looked at him and forced his frown to straighten and curve up just a little. He could tell Derek was exhausted. Stiles figured he needed to leave Derek alone.

"If you need me, don't hesitate to call. Ok?"

Derek looked up at him and nodded, looking back down at his drink.

"Ok. I'll help myself out," Stiles reached the door and turned back to Derek, "I'm sorry."

Stiles fell, back first onto his bed, exhaustion hitting him hard. He was still thinking about why he wasn't feeling worse that Malia was gone, the only girl he's ever dated. Stiles took out his phone from his pocket and looked to see if he had any text messages. Nothing. Stiles rolled over and laid on his pillow, thoughts of Derek entered his mind like they always did, and all he could wish for as he drifted close to sleep was for Derek to call him… give him a chance to be useful.

Suddenly Stiles was pulled from his dreams by a quite vibration that radiated through his mattress. He grabbed at his phone and tried to look at the screen, the brightness blinding him. He made out the name _Derek _and a mix of adrenalin and excitement poured through his body. He answered and pulled the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Derek. What are you doing right now?"

Stiles looked at his clock, _1:17_. "Well I was sleeping. What's up?"

There was a pause. "I'm in my family's house, and I found something I think you need to see. Can you meet me here? I wouldn't call unless it was compl—"

"Sure! I'll be right over!"

Stiles hung up on Derek who was probably still talking and got into his car. The night surprisingly cold and Stiles wasn't fully aware of anything until he parked outside the burned building.

Stiles entered the house, chills running up his spine as the wind picked up inside. He crossed his arms to conserve body heat and willed his eyes to see in the moon lit house.

"Derek?"

There was the sound of the wind circling above him and creaking echoing from different ends of the house.

"D—Derek?" Again no answer. "Hey Derek! Where are you? It's Stiles!"

Stiles stood there for another few seconds and then Derek turned the corner,

"Hey. Thanks for coming."

Stiles shrugged not wanting to show how excited he was that Derek called him.

"It's cool, I'm glad you did… So what's up?"

Derek's face went serious which didn't look encouraging to Stiles.

"It's in the basement."

Stiles squinted, obviously not liking how Derek was describing 'It'.

"It? What is 'it'?"

Derek shrugged, "Not sure. That's why I called. I'll explain on the way."

Stiles hesitated when Derek started moving, but followed as the thought of being in the house alone entered his mind.

"Wait up!" Stiles bolted out of the main room and headed after Derek.

Once he caught up he matched Derek's pace and headed down into the basement. "I came here to think after you left, but when I got down to the basement something felt off."

They were now standing in the center of where the fire started. Stiles looked over at Derek with pain in his stomach.

"Derek, why would you revisit this place?"

Derek looked over at him and shrugged with a frown, "I don't know. It helps me put everything into perspective… anyway as I was down here I noticed something felt strange, I couldn't put my finger on it but I started looking around when I noticed this."

Derek pointed over to one of the walls of the basement behind Stiles. Stiles backed up to see what Derek was looking at and noticed the bricks were hiding a door, that Derek had to just have opened. There was a hand print on one of the ash coated stones to the right of the door, which must have been the pressure plate.

"No way!"

A silence fell over the house again and you could hear the wood floors resting.

"What I wanted you to see is inside."

Derek pushed the door with some force required, and it grinded open, allowing more light to enter. A wave of cold thick air escaped the chamber and Stiles had to step back from the intensity.

"Come on."

Derek entered and quickly vanished into the shadows occupying the recently disturbed chamber. Stiles was shaking, fear taking over his body. He wanted to just step back and run to his car but Derek called him here for a reason and he had to trust him.

"Are you sure we should be in there?"

Stiles voice carried until it got to the opening of the hidden door where it hollowed out into nothing but a whisper. He could feel the darkness seeping out and the hair on his arms stood on end, but he forced himself to move inside. Stiles embraced the darkness and soon his eyes adjusted to the faint light given off by the poorly laid floorboards above them. Derek was standing near the center of the room, staring at a podium. Stiles stepped up behind Derek to get a good look at what it was. A wooden stand stood in the center with a leather book wrapped in chains on it. There were other marks on it but it was too dark to make anything out. Another chill went through Stiles as the floor boards above him echoed inside the chamber.

"What is that?" His voice escaped his lips and soon vanished into the darkness, faintly reaching Derek's ear.

"I don't know. I can't get close to it because there's a mountain ash barrier. It's too strong for me to get through. I need you to get the book for me."

Stiles throat was growing a lump and his body started shaking again, this time he couldn't suppress it. He was scared shitless at the idea, but a little part of him wanted to do it, partly because Derek was asking him to, and partly because he could finally be of some use. Stiles moved towards the podium only to make contact with Derek's outstretched arm.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to."

Stiles took in a shallow breath and looked over at Derek, blue eye's illuminating a small part of the darkness.

"I got it."

Stiles looked back at the book and stepped closer, and again taking another step, each step took more will power as every fiber in his body was telling him to run. Eventually he was inches from the podium and the intense chill he felt moments ago were much stronger. With his shaking hands he reached out to remove the book from it's home. He decided he was going to do it fast, one swift movement, get it and go. His hands were shaking as it hovered over the book. Stiles counted down, making sure to breathe with every number. Three… two…. one… NOW! Stiles hands shot out in front of him and grabbed the chain bound book, a chilling pain overwhelmed his hands but he pushed through it half thinking it was in his head. Moving back he picked up the book, it was surprisingly heavy but Stiles could manage it. Stiles feet moved next, shooting back from the podium, his only goal was to hand the book to Derek. Suddenly his face made contact with a solid space of air that redirected Stiles motion, sending him flying back by his head, a purple light shot through the air forming a bubble around the podium trapping Stiles inside. Stiles' back made contact with the dirt floor and pain was sent through his spine.

"AH!"

Stiles rolled off the root he landed on and started rubbing his back. When it hit him that he was now trapped inside he started panicking looking for Derek on the other side. He found Derek against the wall rubbing his head, the shockwave must have been emitted from both sides.

"Derek! What's happening?"

Derek looked up at Stiles and his face went pale. "Stiles!"

Derek picked himself up and ran over to him. He placed his hands on the bubble and was pushed back. "It's a force field of some kind?"

Stiles saw the panic in Derek's face and it only made the situation worse.

Stiles voice started quivering as fear wrapped around his throat. "Derek, what do I do?"

Derek shook his head. "I don't know."

Stiles stood up and touched the field. It felt like something was pushing back at him, and it was strong. Stiles turned around and the pain radiating through his body was replaced by fear.

"Derek! The book! It's back on the podium!"

Stiles stood as far away from the book as he could, but the only way to get out was going to be through that book. Trembling, his body stepped closer to the book, Derek tried touching the wall again but had no luck getting through.

"Be careful Stiles."

Stiles looked back at Derek who stood there helplessly. Stiles reached out his hands again, this time embracing the chilling pain, sending the wave up his arms making his hairs stand on end. Stiles gripped the chains and started unwrapping the book. Derek moved around the bubble so that Stiles could see both the book and Derek's face. Derek looked down at the book in bewilderment. Stiles dropped the chain on the floor producing a haunting metal on metal sound. Stiles took a deep breath, and after looking at Derek for encouragement but finding nothing but fear, he lifted the cover. The leather didn't give in and Stiles had to put some force behind it. Stiles got it an inch open and then the book sent a wave of purple energy throughout the bubble, slicing Stiles in half. Stiles looked down to see his body still intact but there was a pain building in the area he was hit. It built up in an instant and shot through his body towards his head, and stayed there. Stiles screamed in pain as his mind was being pushed past the limits of pain he thought imaginable. He put his hands up to his head and fell to the floor, squeezing his head and screaming, the agony taking over his body. He could hear Derek screaming back at him, but all he could think about was the unimaginable agony. He managed to open his eyes to see Derek charging at the field and being shot back against the wall. Derek would get up and charge in again, claws tearing at the field. Derek shot back in a spin. The pain started to pulse and all Stiles could do was curl into a ball and hope it would stop.

"Derek…"

Stiles kept whispering his name. He felt the words leave his lips but didn't know why… he just needed to say it for comfort or just to let him know he was still alive.

"Derek…"

Derek was crouched on the floor pushing on the field.

"Stiles! Are you ok?"

The pain resurged and Stiles screamed again, his head felt like it was about to explode. Stiles felt a strong pressure surround his neck and he instantly wrapped his own hands around, trying to pull whatever it was off of him. Stiles searched for Derek and wheezed his name. He saw Derek's eyes wide and red, and a tear was running down his face.

"Stiles! I'm so sorry! I don't know what to do!"

The grip around his neck tightened and he felt his vocal cords crushing underneath the pressure, and slowly he was lifted up by the phantasm. Stiles grabbed at the air, trying to find his attacker but was only surrounded by the ever-growing darkness. His vision was blackening and he resorted to kicking at the air. He tried to take in a breath but all that entered his shrinking lungs was blood. He felt himself drowning, and all he could do was flail and cry. He found Derek again, who was now ripping at the field, breaking bones against the wall he was thrown back on, but he still got up and tried again. It was hopeless, the force field wouldn't be defeated so easily, but still Derek tried. It was equally perplexing and encouraging to Stiles. How could someone like Derek still find the energy to fight? Knowing everything he has been through. Stiles decided he had to try something else, he tried to calm himself. But how? He remembered what Derek said about control, he needed an anchor. Stiles thought of Malia, but the pain sharpened. He thought of his father, but his lungs still filled with blood. He remembered all the good times with Scott, but his vision still faded black. When Stiles was on the brink of death. Only one person stayed, and that was Derek.

Stiles thought of Derek and was able to suck in just a little bit of air, but that was all he needed. He flooded his head with memories of Derek. His lungs felt like the time he was keeping Derek above the water while being attacked by Jackson. He started replacing the blood in his lungs by the chilling air of the dark chamber. The grip loosened a little bit more and Stiles could feel himself being lowered onto the floor. Stiles remembered when Derek broke into his room trying to hide from his father, or the time Derek was trying to fit into his clothes. Stiles felt his vision clearing and he focused back in on Derek, who was now kneeling on the floor next to him, a bloody mess. The force field separated them but he could still feel the warmth from Derek. The pain in his head started to pulse and he curled back into his ball, breathing was labored with his collapsed trachea but it was manageable. Stiles just kept staring at Derek and the pulsing started to slow. Eventually the only thing Stiles was feeling was a warm tear cascading down his cheek. Derek reached out his blood-coated hand and pushed against the field but was shot back a few inches. Stiles sat in that position for what felt like hours, but never once looked away from Derek.

"Stiles? Are you ok?" Derek looked really beat up.

Stiles nodded, "I think. How about you?"

Derek shook his head, "We need to get you out of there."

Stiles let out a hallowed laugh. "Yeah, that'd be nice… I'm really cold."

Derek's face turned pale again, which made Stiles think, "Are you not?"

Derek shook his head.

"Well that's not the most encouraging thing to hear. You could have lied."

Derek's face went sad with regret. Stiles reached for the podium and picked himself up, leaning against the piece of wood. The book rested on the podium opened. Stiles looked at the page. It was defiantly old, the pages yellowed with age. The first page read,

_Mihi fortis in unum hoc aperit, cave his. Magna vis est in se, sed etiam de malo. Væ mihi, decidet super vehiculum._

Stiles recognized the language as Latin, which he took last year, and if he paid attention it would have come in handy finally. Instead he pulled out his phone and entered it into the app that was used to translate his homework. Derek was looking at Stiles with caution written across his face.

"What are you doing?"

Stiles kept tapping on his phone, "It's Latin, and I'm translating it."

Derek looked confused at him. "But didn't you take that class?"

Stiles looked up at him, "Yeah. Why?"

Derek cocked his head to the side, "Shouldn't you be able to just read it?"

Stiles let out a soft laugh. "I only passed that class because of this app,"

Derek's face only looked more confused so Stiles quickly explained, a little embarrassed,

"I didn't have time to translate the homework so I never really learned the language. Plus it's a dead language."

Derek shrugged. "But do you expect to have service down here?"

Stiles shook his head going back to his phone. "Nope. I didn't have service in class either but that didn't stop me from downloading the database onto my phone. Ok. Here's the translation. 'To the one brave enough to open this tome, beware the following. Great power is within, but so too is great evil. A curse shall fall upon the bearer of the tome.'" Stiles looked up at Derek who was just as concerned.

Stiles decided to state the obvious. "That doesn't sound good."

Stiles turned on his phone light and looked at the page. On the bottom was something else.

_Conversus in verbis concipi possit, quod sint unreadable readable._

Stiles looked up at Derek, "What? What do you see?"

Stiles looked back down. "I don't know. It says something else at the bottom. 'Conversus in verbis concipi possit, quod sint unreadable readable.'"

Stiles eyes started to burn and he tried to wipe them but before he could reach his hand up, his eyes started to illuminate purple and the book started to glow. Stiles looked up at Derek.

"Stiles! Your eyes!" Stiles frantically put his hands up to his eyes, rubbing them.

"What? What is it?"

Derek shook his head with disbelief, "They're purple."

Stiles looked at his phone screen and saw two purple orbs staring back at him.

"No way!"

Stiles looked down at the book and notice the words were English now.

"Derek. I think I just casted a spell! What I just said in Latin translates to 'Turning words into the conceivable, make what is unreadable readable.' And the book looks like it's in English now."

The field around Stiles made a buzzing sound and slowly dissipated into the darkness.

Stiles looked at Derek, "Is it gone?"

Derek shook his head. "I don't know. One way to find out."

Stiles closed the book and picked it up. It was still heavy even with the chains removed. Stiles slowly approached the space where the barrier was just radiating and put out his hand, finding nothing but chilling air. He took a step forward and then another, repeating until he was grabbed by Derek and pulled into a hug. Stiles just stood there not knowing if he should return the hug or just not ruin the moment, Derek's warmth spread through his core and he didn't want it to end, sighing in relief Stiles leaned onto Derek and Derek whispered to him,

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to do this without knowing anything. You trusted me and I put you in danger."

Stiles decided to wrap his arms around Derek, "You don't have to apologize for anything. I did it because I wanted to help."

Stiles lost himself to the warmth, but eventually Derek loosened his grip and their bodies parted, the chilling air infiltrating Stiles body again. Derek looked around and then stole Stiles words right out of his mouth,

"Let's get out of here."

Stiles nodded and followed Derek back up, tensing as he stepped farther and farther from the podium, afraid the field would reappear and slap him in the face. Derek walked Stiles to his car and looked at the book.

"Are you sure you should be holding onto that?"

Stiles looked down at the book, which he completely forgot he was holding. He looked at Derek and then back down at the book,

"I don't know…" Stiles kept his stare on the book, he felt connected somehow to it. "Would you mind if I took it home and studied it?"

Derek frowned at Stiles who was now returning the gaze. Derek leaned on Stiles jeep and thought.

"I guess it would be wrong for me to deny you that."

Stiles smiled, "Thank you. Can we meet up tomorrow?"

Derek nodded and added, "I'm glad you're ok."

Stiles got into his jeep and headed home. By the time he got back into his house and washed off the blood around his mouth and head it was 2:43 am. Stiles grabbed a jacket and put it on, trying to get rid of the chill he was still feeling. He sat at his desk and turned on his light, focusing it on the book. Curiosity took over and he started inspecting it, noticing the leather had stitching to the edges, probably to keep it all together, but also stitching on the front cover. It spelled out _Umbra. _He looked it up on the Internet and found some information about a fabled tome called the Umbra or The Shade as it's translated into English. The information Stiles read about would have given him the chills, but he was already so cold he didn't think it was possible. He pulled out the board he used previously to find the Benefactor and started piecing the information together on it. The conclusion he came to was haunting and he needed to tell Derek immediately. Stiles glanced over at his phone for the time. 4:35 am. A wave of exhaustion hit him and his legs started shaking. Stiles turned off the lights and got into bed with the book still in his hands, he figured he should get some sleep and tell Derek in the morning. As his bones settled and his body started recovering from the pain he endured, all Stiles could think about was the book in his hands, the overwhelming feeling of doom, and the warmth he felt when thinking of Derek.


	2. Chapter 2

Stiles tried to fall asleep but the cold radiating through his body kept him shivering. During the night he thought about Derek and why he was his anchor. He looked down at his phone, it was 10:00 am, and he decided this was as good a time as any to call Derek.

"Hey, It's Stiles. Um. Can you come over?"

"Is everything ok?"

Stiles paused. He didn't know how to answer that. Based on the research he did everything was not ok, far from it. But he didn't want to worry Derek, he was already dealing with Braeden's absence. Stiles was about to speak when Derek interrupted obviously troubled by the pause,

"I'm on my way."

The call ended and Stiles decided it would be a good idea to at least clean up his room a little bit, try and get his mind off what he had to tell Derek. Stiles picked up stray clothes and disposed of them in the overflowing laundry basket. He started his shower and got in. He kept turning the water hotter and hotter to shake off the chilling feeling, but almost boiled off his skin. Stiles dried off and brushed his teeth. He opened the door back into his room and found Derek standing in the center staring at the white board. Stiles recoiled back, his heart skipped a beat, and he let out a shocking scream. Stiles felt his towel fall down and his body flooded with panic. He saw Derek turn to find him butt naked on the floor grabbing for his towel. Derek laughed as Stiles tried to pick up whatever pride and privacy he had left.

"Derek! You can't just break in!"

"You shouldn't flash people either but you don't see me complaining."

Stiles went red, _what is that suppose to mean? _Stiles ran over to his closet and put clothes on, hiding himself behind the closet door.

"You got here quickly."

"You were quite, which isn't like you."

Stiles walked over to Derek and pointed at the board.

"I found some stuff about the book and it's seriously freaking me out. It's called The Shade."

Stiles navigated through the board, spewing out the information he planned on giving him all last night, terror started coating his voice as he spoke more and more about the book.

"The Shade was put together by… a dark cult who worshipped… Satan and generally anything creepy and dark. They put together all their resources and, enchanted this book with black magic. It required thirteen innocent sacrifices."

Stiles picked up the book and looked at it as he recited the rest from memory. Reaching the conclusion of his conversation in his head forced a tear to slowly burn down his cheek.

"And by innocent I mean a newborn… they fucking sacrificed thirteen babies to make this… thing!"

Stiles wiped the tear and kept going, "The book allows the owner to use the black magic spells inside. But… to be able to cast a spell in the book, you need to form a connection with…"

Stiles shook his head and pointed at the paper on the board. Derek moved close to it to inspect the writing and was shocked.

"Hell!?"

"Hell. And to do that you have to form a bond with the book and survive 'The Test', which basically is when the book tries to kill you."

Stiles guided his shaking finger down from one paper to the other by the string connecting the two. Stiles recalled the night before, and the pain started to resurge into his head.

"So you formed a connection with Hell?! Is that why you almost died yesterday?"

Stiles sighed and nodded. "Yeah… I only survived because I found an anchor."

Derek turned back to Stiles, "Anchor? Like what werewolves do?"

Stiles nodded, "I guess." He sounded hopeless.

Derek shook his head with horror. Stiles took that as a sign to continue, he took in a deep breath.

"To be able to form a bond the last owner has to be dead."

Stiles flipped the board and pointed at a man in black and white.

"A cultist by the name of Luke was the very first to wield this books power and quickly became obsessed with the 'purification' of the world through mass executions of the 'innocent.' Eventually a group of Crusaders gathered word of this and executed him. They tried to destroy this thing, but it was impossible, it's too dark to destroy. Instead they forced the cultist group that originally put the book together to set a curse on it."

Stiles hated this part.

"The curse was that if the book is reactivated and a bond formed, it would emit a beacon that would warn the Crusaders of the reactivation."

Stiles guided Derek's troubled eyes to the picture of the Vatican.

"During the ritual the cultists had to sacrifice themselves to set the curse in place. The Crusaders took the book and secured it in a vault underneath the Vatican, never to be seen again. That was like a thousand years ago and now you find it in your house."

Derek shook his head and looked down.

Stiles had already realized the graveness of the situation, but he didn't realize that he was banking on Derek having a plan. Stiles started panicking and anger boiled over in his chest.

"Well? Any idea what to do?"

Derek shrugged, "I have no idea. This is the first I'm hearing about any of this."

Stiles eyes glazed over, "I just got over being possessed by a dark fox and now I have a 'bond with Hell'! These Crusaders are probably heading over to my house RIGHT NOW! What do I do Derek!?"

Stiles eyes started to water and he dropped to the floor in tears.

"What do I do? I can't break the bond unless I die, but I can't use this book after knowing how many innocent lives were sacrificed to make it! And I can't get rid of how cold I am! I'm freezing and couldn't even sleep yesterday and… and I can't think straight!"

Stiles looked up at Derek his eyes red. Derek just shook his head and looked back, water filling his eyes.

"Stiles… I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do. I should never have called you in the first place. This is all my fault, but I won't let you die. Let the Crusaders come, I will take care of them. Have you looked through the book to see if there is anything we can use?"

Stiles wanted to look through the book but he was scared something would happen and no one would know. He opened the book on the floor and started flipping through the pages, feeling safe with Derek there. He recalled the spell that he used yesterday to translate everything and casted it with ease; it came shockingly natural to him. Stiles flipped through the pages mumbling as his purple eyes tore through every page, corner to corner, until he found,

"The Shade's Thrall? Is that like the books protector?"

Stiles looked up at Derek who looked equally puzzled. Derek moved down to the floor, sitting eye level with Stiles,

"What does the spell translate to?"

Stiles looked back down at the book, his purple eyes straining.

"Hear from the shadows your master's call, join me in battle my eternal Thrall."

Stiles felt warmth radiate in the palm of his hand. When he lifted it up he saw a purple orb grow, floating above his palm. He looked into the perfectly round orb, mesmerized by its simplicity. Stiles looked up at Derek who was also staring at the orb. Stiles figured if there were anyone who knew anything about the book, it would be the thrall who protects it. Stiles instinctively looked back at the orb and envisioned the spell in his head. When the force became palpable he wrapped his fingers around the ball and squeezed, the warmth pressed hard against his hand. Stiles crushed the orb and the warmth fizzled away. A purple rift formed opposite Stiles and as he looked in disbelief something else caught his eye. Derek was glowing purple!

"Derek!"

Derek was looking at his arms, panicking. Derek looked back up to Stiles, the purple light was quickly consuming him, and then in a split second he was gone. Stiles felt his heart drop and he gawked at the empty space where Derek was just sitting, but then he felt a change in the rift to his left. He turned to see Derek emerging from the rift. Stiles watched as Derek came back into view, the purple light dissipating until nothing was left. Derek was standing there, but something was off. Derek's eyes weren't the same as they were moments before. They looked the same, but Stiles could see some property wasn't right, they looked, withdrawn.

"Derek? Are you ok?"

Derek nodded.

"Of course. How can I help master?"

Stiles eyes went wide and his heart fluttered at the idea of Derek calling him 'Master'.

"Master? Are you… the protector of this book?"

Derek nodded.

"How are you the thrall? You never told me any of that! Derek this book is full of dark magic, why are you involved with it?"

"The moment when the Master passes The Test, a person is selected by me that the Master trusts. This is involuntary as I'm capable of picking the best choice for the Master. Derek is the person I chose, but also the one you refer to as your anchor. He is smart and strong, and has a protective nature that could be very useful to you."

Stiles felt the air escape his lungs.

"I enslaved you!?"

Derek shook his head.

"As I said I did that for you, but only based on your true feelings. I assure you Derek's the best person for you."

Stiles shook his head in disbelief, and he got up off the floor and grabbed Derek's shoulders, a lump was forming in his throat and a sinking feeling took over his body.

"But you're not the real Derek. Is he in there? Is he aware all of this is happening?"

Derek nodded. "As protector of you, I must ensure the thrall puts your priorities ahead of their own. If they are not able to do that, then I force them to. The Derek you refer to is still here and highly combative, so I've taken over."

Stiles backed away from Derek, fear starting to spread through his body.

"So then who am I talking to right now?"

"I am the book. I'm The Shade."

Stiles grabbed his head and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling to relieve the pressure accumulating, "You're the book? What are you? A demon? Or are you the people sacrificed to make the book?"

Derek's gaze never once changed, it was withdrawn and cold.

"My name is Luke. I was the creator of the book, which I now serve."

Stiles mouth opened wide.

"You're the one who killed all of those innocent people!"

Derek shook his head. "What I did with the book has no importance. It is your turn to wield the power; I'm simply an instrument to help. That is the original curse of The Shade, one that has been replaced by the Crusaders. The details of which you uncovered by yourself."

Stiles looked at the book and then back to Derek.

"How do I stop this? How do I separate my bond with this book? I don't want this power."

"Only death may separate you from this book now. The bond has been made."

"Then how do I defeat the Crusaders?"

Derek smiled. "Through me of course. Within me you'll find spells of many kinds. You can summon demons to possess your victims, hell fire to consume the ones you hate, chilling shadows to empower your allies, or demonic ruins to corrupt others to the core. These are just a few things you'll find within me, but all of them are capable of defeating the crusaders."

Stiles squinted at Derek.

"So how did you get defeated?"

Derek frowned, the thought was obviously not pretty.

"The Crusaders used a nullifying trap on me. Something I didn't think they were capable of. In that trap I was unable to use any magic."

"One last question. How do I set Derek free of this? I don't want to use him, or anybody."

Derek shrugged. "That is simply not possible. If you are finished with him you can always release him. He will return to normal but will remain the thrall in case you ever need to call on him again. If he resists I will simply take over his body again."

"How do I release him?"

Derek nodded and crouched over the book Stiles had on the floor. He gently turned the page as if it was sacred to him. He laid a finger on the spell and stood back up. Stiles knelt down and read it.

"Back to the shadows I wish you withdraw, I release you now my eternal thrall."

Stiles hand felt the warmth again and he quickly held it up in front of Derek. The orb floated in his palm and he wrapped his fingers around it again, crushing it. Derek shined purple and fell back onto Stiles bed. The purple aura disappeared and Derek shot up with horror in his eyes. He turned to Stiles and stared in disbelief.

"Derek? Is it you?"

Derek nodded slowly.

"Are you ok? Do you remember what just happened?"

Derek nodded again.

Stiles sank onto the floor, staring in bewilderment at the book.

"You thought of me as your anchor?"

Stiles looked back up at Derek who was looking very confused. Stiles took in a deep breath and exhaustion took over his body.

"Yeah."

Derek looked Stiles up and down, "Why me?"

Stiles shrugged.

"I don't know…"

Derek leaned forward, "Stiles."

Stiles felt his blood rush through his body and for the first time he felt warm, that's when he figured it out.

"How did you do this to me?"

Derek looked confused.

"Do what?"

"You make me… warm, when I'm always cold."

Derek's eyebrow arched, "Warm?"

Stiles nodded. He didn't feel like he had to explain anything as long as he knew. _I like you Derek. A lot. _Stiles looked back down at the book.

"Promise me one thing, don't cast that spell on me again."

Stiles nodded never looking away from the book.

"I'm sorry. I know how it feels to not have control over your actions… I would never put someone through that."

Derek exhaled. "It's not your fault. And for the record I'm sorry too… for everything. When you were choking yesterday I felt… like I was losing my family all over again."

Stiles felt incredible sad and all he wanted to do was put his hand on Derek's leg, offer some support. But that wasn't possible. All he could do is sit in his loneliness and relish in the fact that he finally found out why he didn't feel very sad about Malia leaving, and why Derek gave him so much comfort. But to say it out loud would be impossible.

Derek left and Stiles body was rejecting anything other than sleep. Stiles laid in his bed for an hour or so before sleep consumed him. He was exhausted and ready to forget all about what happened, he drifted off. He remembered that dream vividly.

It was dark and the only thing he could see was a stone slab in front of him. He heard faint chanting erupt into a sea of chorus accompanied by the cries of babies. Looking around he saw shadows of men in clocks emerge around the slab and each one held a baby, some by the feet others by the hand, all of which were dangling in the air and flailing, just like Stiles did when he was being choked. One stepped forward and held the baby over the Altar by the arm. The singing started getting louder and louder and as the voices became too much for Stiles, the man swung the baby back and then onto the slab. The infant cried as his legs broke in opposite directions against the stone. Again the man swung the baby back and slammed the body against the stone, this time the baby rebounded a little and the man took the opportunity to swing again. The baby let out blood curling screams and Stiles cried out, tears rushing down his face. The man turned his head to Stiles and the other members followed. The man by the stone slab took the baby by the neck and walked over to Stiles, the baby was blue by the time the man made it to him. Stiles screamed for them to stop but the man only made the grip tighter. Stiles could feel his own neck constricting and he grabbed at it. The man held the baby inches from him and he could see every ounce of pain the baby was experiencing. The worst part was the baby didn't understand what was happening, and it was helpless. The man squeezed so hard that all Stiles heard was a pop echo through the darkness. The baby's face didn't change from the agony it must have endured. The man ran back to the slab and slammed the baby's head onto it, bathing the stone in blood. Stiles ran up to the Altar to try and save the baby but couldn't make it in time. Stiles recoiled back in an onset of tears. The man dropped the lifeless body next to the slab and stepped back into the circle. Another figured emerged and took the first ones place. The chorus got louder and the man took the baby by the leg and swung. Stiles screamed again and tried to push the guy back but his neck was seized by the shadows and soon he was in the air flailing again. His body started to shake controllably and his neck got tighter and tighter. He tried gasping but couldn't force anything in. All he could do was fight for his own life as the babies were sacrificed one by one.

Stiles felt the grip around his neck vanish and he woke up to see his Dad holding his arms down. Stiles burst into tears and his Dad embraced him.

"Stiles it was just a dream! You're ok! You're ok."

Stiles hugged his father, not wanting to fall back to that horrible place. They stayed there for a few moments, Sheriff Stilinski holding his son in his arms.

"I thought these nightmares were suppose to be over?"

Stiles shook his head, "These are different… more vivid."

The Sheriff looked at Stiles with sadness. "I was about to go into work, but do you want me to take off?"

Stiles glanced over at the clock. It was 9:36 pm.

"I need to go see Derek."

Stiles released his father and wiped the tears from his face. The Sheriff left after a few more rebuttals and Stiles was on his way to Derek's with The Shade sitting right next to him. The dream resurged a few times while Stiles was on the road but he did all he could to block it out until he was at Derek's front door.

Stiles banged on Derek's door and was greeted by a grumpy man in sweatpants. Stiles was so traumatized he didn't even notice Derek was shirtless until he felt nothing but skin embrace his cheek as he hugged him.

"Stiles? What's wrong?"

Stiles let go of Derek and tears started running down his face.

"I just had another nightmare, but this one was about the book! Derek. It's happening all over again!"

Stiles tried wiping the tears off his face but they just kept coming. Derek frowned and backed away from the door, inviting Stiles in. Stiles sat on Derek's couch with the book still in his hands. He always had the book next to him, even though the book was the problem Stiles felt connected to it. Probably because of the bond with Hell… Derek grabbed Stiles a glass of water and asked what happened. Stiles retold what he saw and Derek's frown only turned more dramatic. Stiles wanted to spare the details about how the babies were sacrificed but he figured Derek needed to know.

"And then my father woke me up. But he was holding down my hands…"

Derek was silent for a moment,

"You said you had the feeling that you were being choked again right? Maybe you were doing that to yourself? Was there ever a time when you were hurting yourself when the fox was possessing you?"

Stiles shook his head. "I never hurt myself… just others."

Derek recalled the details and winced, not meaning to bring up that subject with Stiles.

Stiles was overwhelmed with fear, not able to get the image of the babies out of his head. He didn't realize that he was closer to Derek. He had scooted over to Derek when he was describing his dreams.

"And something else is happening to me. I can't shake this cold feeling."

Derek's eyebrows furrowed. "Ever?"

Stiles paused. He needed to tell Derek the truth…

"Well, expect for…"

Derek cocked his head to the side, "For what?"

Stiles looked down at the book in his lap, he didn't know how Derek would react to this. He can't lose Derek… not when he needed him the most.

"For when I'm with you…"

Derek slowly nodded, surprised and confused.

"That warm feeling?"

Stiles felt a rush of panic and the need to explain.

"I don't know why. I've tried to make sense out of it but I can't. It just happens."

Stiles looked down in shame, not wanting to see how Derek was taking all of this.

"Yeah… I feel like that too sometimes."

_He feels it too? Could he feel the same way about me? _Derek sighed and rubbed his bed head.

"Stiles?"

Stiles looked up hesitantly, "Yeah?"

"Promise me if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation that you will summon me."

Stiles heart dropped as memories of being trapped in his own body flooded his mind again. He stood up with shock.

"I can't do that! I don't want to put anyone else through that! Besides you told me to promise to never use it yesterday."

Derek shot up to his feet with anger coating his words.

"You're not the only one who has nightmares!"

Derek's eyes were glazed over, full of anger. Stiles stepped back at the sudden outburst.

"I haven't been able to sleep too. Every time I close my eyes I see your body hanging in the air, flailing, all while knowing it was MY fault. I can't handle having another person die because of me!"

Derek's eyes were blue and he was breathing heavily, Stiles didn't even think about how Derek felt.

"I… I didn't know you felt that way."

Derek recoiled and his eyes changed back.

"If you need my promise you have it."

"Thank you."

Stiles nodded still a bit shaken up by Derek. There was another pause.

"Did you want to sleep here?"

Stiles heart fluttered again, but he didn't know how to answer so he just didn't. Derek nodded and gestured for Stiles to follow. Derek brought Stiles into his room.

"You can sleep here… I'll be on the couch."

Derek grabbed his pillow, leaving one for Stiles, and started to leave.

"Derek."

Stiles didn't want him to go. Not yet at least. He felt a lump form in his throat again and breathing took a lot more energy than he had.

"Can you sleep here too?"

There was a moment of silence before Derek shifted his weight back towards Stiles. Stiles started to shake, as Derek got closer to him.

"Sure."

Stiles went on the other side of the bed and got in. The cold sheets brought back the endless chill he's always feeling. Derek got into bed and in seconds his body heat radiated throughout the bed. Stiles felt warm and safe. He made himself comfortable and drifted off to sleep knowing Derek was inches from him. A few moments before he was out he thought he heard Derek let out a low growl, kind of like a purr. For some reason that was all he needed to hear to have a good nights sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles woke up from the sun hitting his face. The first thing he noticed was the warmth that resonated through the bed. He turned over on to face the inside of the bed to find Derek's back. He looked at Derek's shoulder blades rise and fall as the natural light flooded the room. _How did I end up here with him? _Stiles thought about the events leading up to this, a cursed book, Crusaders, dark magic, Satan… the thought brought chills up his spine for only a moment. Derek took in a deep breath which brought back the warmth. Stiles curled up into a ball to absorb all the warmth he could. _It was so nice for him to let me stay here. _Stiles started to think about how he felt about Derek. The warmth he was feeling only supported what he thought; he was in love with Derek Hale.

Stiles rolled back over to the window with a frustrating sigh, the sun shining back on his face. How could he be feeling this way about him? He was sure Derek was straight… granted the girls were all psycho but they were all girls nonetheless. Stiles figured since he was up he should make something for Derek as a 'thank you for harboring me when I was freaking out and crying'. Stiles rolled out of bed and noticed he was still in his clothes, probably too sleep deprived yesterday to have noticed. He made his way as quietly as possible to the door and made his way to the kitchen. He checked the refrigerator to see what he had to work with and was surprised to find it full of food. He decided on eggs with toast and coffee. Stiles started Derek's coffee machine and the noise echoed through the loft. After toasting the bread and making the sunny side up eggs Stiles found two plates and made sure it looked appetizing. Stiles placed the plates on Derek's kitchen table and made his way over to the room.

"Hey Derek?"

Derek rolled over to face the celling and inched back to rest his head on the backboard.

"Hey. What's u— Did you make eggs? And coffee?"

Stiles smiled. "And toast. Is that ok?"

Derek rubbed his temple and got up from his bed. He was still in his sweatpants, which was a little bit of a let down. Stiles really wanted to see him in his underwear.

"Yeah that's fine. Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

"Mhmm, it's no problem. I wanted to as a thank you… for everything."

Derek nodded. They made their way over to the table after pouring their coffee. Derek turned on the news and they ate in silence. The anchors covered nothing eventful. After they finished Derek went to the couch and sat drinking the rest of his coffee and Stiles joined him after he gathered the plates in the sink. Derek took an aggressive sip of his coffee and stared at Stiles.

"What is it?"

Derek shook his head. "I think we should call a pack meeting. Get Scott, Kira, Lydia, Liam. We need to come up with a plan."

Stiles nodded. If anyone could beat the Crusaders it was all of them together. Derek made short work of the rest of his coffee and started calling everyone. Stiles decided it would be a good time to wash the dishes; he didn't want to leave a mess for Derek to clean later. Stiles finished the dishes and suddenly felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. _My book! _Stiles ran across the loft and into Derek's room. Stiles saw Derek craning his neck to see what was happening from the couch as he ran across the room, but he didn't care. Stiles found his book under his pillow in Derek's bed. He took hold of it and felt his heart slow back down. Derek rushed into the room.

"What's wrong?"

Stiles shook his head. "Nothing. Sorry. I just needed to make sure the book was here."

Derek looked at him for a moment in deep thought.

"You sure you're ok?"

Stiles nodded and stood up. Derek went back to the couch and made his last call to Lydia and Stiles joined him with his book once again.

"Lydia? Hey. Emergency meeting at my place in 30. Can you make it? Alright see you then."

Stiles opened the book and flipped through some of the pages after casting the translation spell, which he did almost without thinking. Derek looked over at him.

"You sure you should be looking through that?"

Stiles looked up. Derek looked concerned.

"Eh," Stiles shrugged, "if I don't cast anything it can't hurt right?"

Derek shrugged.

"Plus," Stiles added with a little embarrassment, "I need to do something. It will make me feel like I'm helping. I don't want to be a problem for you all to fix."

Derek shook his head. "You're not a problem Stiles. If you're in danger we're going to have your back. That's just how it is. You'd do the same for us."

Stiles smiled. He remembered when he first met Derek. He felt nothing but fear, but once you got to know him he was actually very sensitive and protective… which Stiles loved. Derek grabbed a book and sat back down, turning down the TV to a slight whisper. They both sat engulfed in their literature of choice. Derek grabbed his family's book of anything mythological. He liked to reference it when he encountered something he knew nothing about. Stiles found a string of spells that seemed to boost other people. _This must be the 'shadows to empower your allies' that Luke was talking about. _Stiles felt if he had to use the book, the only kind he would want to use would be that type. If he had to defend himself the last thing he wanted to do was turn into those monsters from his dream. He looked through the numerous spells and found a couple he thought would be useful. He made sure that he didn't say any of them out loud. Someone was knocking on the door and Stiles looked up from his book. Derek was already half way across the loft. Scott and Kira were the first to arrive. Shortly followed by Lydia who picked up Liam on her way over. Scot and Kira shared the love seat, Liam and Lydia sat on the couch across from Stiles and Derek sat next to him. Derek rubbed his hands together and got right to the point.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice. We have a problem."

Lydia sighed loudly, "What now?"

Derek told everyone about the cellar that he discovered and the barrier he couldn't cross. He told them how Stiles risked his life to retrieve the book and then recited the findings of Stiles research. Which impressed Stiles, he didn't think Derek cared as much as he did. Derek ended with the threat of the Crusaders and the troubling dream Stiles had. During this debriefing of sorts Stiles was looking down at the book, not wanting to face his friends. He felt embarrassed that he got everyone into this mess. He looked up a few times just to catch a bewildered glare by everyone. He wouldn't have been able to sit their with everyone's eyes on him without Derek. The warmth he was giving off kept Stiles close.

"So, that's what we are up against. Stiles slept here last night after he came over."

Stiles looked up to see everyone's reaction to that and found Lydia's shocking glare. It was less shock more 'spill later'. Stiles felt a rush of blood go to his head and it must have been audible to the werewolves because Scott Derek and Liam all looked over at him with confusion. Kira decided to break the growing tension.

"So is that all we know about the Crusaders?"

Derek shrugged. "I can't find much else about them. But going off of what Stiles found I think they might be connected to the witch trials though."

Everyone shifted in their seats, uneasy about the mentioning of witches. "It's just a hunch though. Stiles' information points to the late Middle Ages more than the early 19th century. But I can't help but think of witches with this book."

Lydia nodded, "I agree. I don't think this is completely irrelevant to the Crusaders during the Holy Wars but it definitely has more of a Salem feeling to it."

Scott turned to Stiles, "Why didn't you call me when any of this was happening?"

Stiles rubbed his neck, "I wanted to but you were with Kira on your first date when it first happened and I didn't want to ruin anything for you all."

Scott frowned, "No way man, you can always call me dude."

Kira nodded, "Yeah. No matter what we're doing if you're in danger you should let us know."

Stiles felt so lucky to have such great friends. "Thanks guys."

Scott smiled. "Anytime bro."

**BANG BANG BANG BANG**

Stiles was startled by the sequence of bangs coming from Derek's door. Everyone looked towards the door and Derek was the first one up. Scott and Liam followed, with Kira shortly behind them with her Katana out. Lydia and Stiles retreated back to the kitchen where they could get a clear view. Derek went up to the door and gave everyone a reassuring look before opening it. As Derek twisted the handle the door slammed open, launching Derek back against the wall. A man dressed in white robes with red streaks randomly placed emerged from the other end. He had black gloves on and rosaries decorated his neck and wrists. The man stepped into the loft and looked around, landing his gaze on Stiles. Stiles gripped his book and fear took over his body. This must be a Crusader.

"You."

Stiles stepped back as Scott crouched down and growled, Liam and Kira assembled behind him. The man placed his gaze back on the group in front of him. Scott shot up in the air and raised his hand up against the man, claws ready to tear through his flesh. The man kept still and waited till the last possible second to dodge. As he twisted away from Scott's claws his hand came up and met Scott's elbow. It was brief but the pressure from the impact sent Scott spinning and into Derek who was just recovering. Kira started swinging her Katana as she ran towards the man. The man didn't move during the initial conflict and now shifted his footing, anticipating Kira's attack. Kira put more force behind her blade as she reached the man, but the man twisted around her quickly and thrust his hand down, making contact with Kira's spine. Kira screamed in pain as she projected to the floor. Liam had already lunched forward and was about to make contact with the man's skull but the man grabbed at Liam's head and pulled Liam over his shoulder. Liam hit the floor with a thump and the man palmed Liam's chest. Derek was back on his feet and the man turned to him, readjusting his footing. Derek launched forward and was inches from the man in a second, which must have startled the man because he jumped back to put distance between them. Derek was fast though, and clawed at the man's stomach. The man twisted in the air and landed on the couch, tumbling back into the coffee table. Stiles could only stand back, fearing for his life. He watched as Scott picked himself up and grasped his elbow in pain, howling. Scott looked around and made contact with Derek's eyes,

"I can't heal! Why can't I heal?"

Derek backed up and started to think. Stiles looked over at the man who was now getting back up to his feet and then back at Lydia who's stare was focused on something out of the normal world.

"Lydia? What's wrong?"

She looked back up at the man in disbelief and then turned to Stiles slowly.

"I hear agonizing screams. This Crusader… was apart of the witch exorcisms. No. Not exorcisms, executions. And not just witches. This man, is close with death."

Kira cried, holding her back, "What does that mean?"

Liam was still on the floor, clutching his heart and whimpering when he could manage it. Lydia shook her head and shrugged,

"I'm not sure. But he's dangerous. Very dangerous!"

Stiles looked back at the man who was now on his feet and returning his stare. Stiles felt the chill that was pleasantly absent all morning creep back up his spine. Stiles gripping the leather book harder and took a step back.

"Stiles get behind me."

Stiles looked back to find Derek had moved closer to him. Stiles looked at him and for a moment got lost in his eyes. _I have to do something. I can't always be the damsel in distress. _Derek's eyes hardened and he frowned.

"Stiles! Don't you dare."

Stiles frowned; he already made his choice. Stiles opened the book and turned to the pages with the beneficial magic he was already studying. Derek sidestepped to him and got close enough to whisper,

"What are you about to do?"

Stiles had no idea, but he couldn't just watch his friends get hurt.

"I don't know yet. These pages have beneficial magic spells written on them. If I can just read through some of them I might be able to help."

Derek sighed, "Fine. But don't do anything stupid."

Stiles let out a hallow laugh, "What's the worst that can happen?"

The answer came before he could even finish the question. _Death. _Stiles was making a decision that could _kill _everyone there. Derek must have picked up on this because before he left he whispered,

"I believe in you."

Stiles felt a mixture of pressure and happiness at Derek's words, and his heart fluttered. Derek joined back with Scott who was the only one able to stand. The man walked towards them and Scott charged, followed by Derek. Scott jumped forward and put his weight on his good hand, circling to kick at the man's legs. As Scott connected, Derek launched forward and landed a punch square in the nose. The combination sent the man to the floor with a bang. Stiles purple eyes were scanning the pages, desperate to find something. The Crusader twisted on the floor and sent his legs flying through the air, returning the low kick to Scott ten fold. Scott let out a bloodcurdling scream as the force sent half of his lower leg back before the rest of his body followed, resulting in a hallow pop that reverberated through the loft. Kira screamed for Scott but couldn't move; Liam could only cough up blood. Lydia ran over to help him, leaning him on his side to allow the build up of blood to leave his throat. Stiles looked up to see Scott on the floor, his leg bending away from his body in an unnatural position. The screams Scott produced drove Stiles to the edge of sanity, but he had to focus on finding a spell to help his friends. The man seemed to feed off the torment he was inflicting because he grew stronger and stronger as the fight had progressed. The man jumped to his feet and rushed towards Derek, almost floating across the floor adding a scary characteristic to himself. Derek bolted back but it was too late, in seconds the man had him by the throat and launched in the air. Derek crashed into the wall across the living room. Stiles watched as the man made his way to the same side in almost an instant, beating Derek there and connecting his fist with Derek as he rebounded off the wall. Derek spit out blood and Stiles would never forget the face he made. It brought the memory of his dream back and the chill amplified throughout his body as fear consumed him.

"Derek!"

Stiles body started to shake as Derek could barley manage to breathe, colliding on the floor with a shallow exhale. The man took Derek by the back of the neck and lifted him up off the floor before slamming him down again. Stiles looked around for assistance but everyone was on the floor, engulfed in their own world of pain.

"Derek!" Stiles watched as Derek's seemingly lifeless body was lifted again and brought down to the hard floors, blood erupting from his face.

"Derek? Derek…"

Stiles could feel something building up in his body and soon it was hard to breathe. Stiles got lightheaded and started looking around, not making sense of the environment he was in. Stiles looked at the book and felt this deep connection to it intensify. Stiles looked back at Derek, focusing on his face. Derek was looking at him and the pain in his eyes shot bullets through Stiles heart. The chill radiated deep in his bones and he could feel it spreading to his arms and legs. Derek outstretched an arm and Stiles knew he had to act, had to do something. It was his time to act and all he could amount to do was stand and watch as his friends were getting killed. Suddenly Stiles felt a sudden anger take over him and his body felt frozen, his blood so cold it stopped in his arteries.

"DEREK!"

Stiles felt his body shake and the cold spread to the air around him. He had no control over his body, but at the same time was driving it into action by the fear of losing Derek. Stiles ran from the kitchen towards the man and slammed into him, sending Derek back to the ground for the seventh time. Stiles felt pressure coming from his heart and he relinquished control to it. Stiles felt himself recede back into his mind and watched as the anger towards that man fueled his body's actions. That man was responsible for Derek's condition and what he was doing was unforgivable. He felt words boiling in his chest and soon he was shouting a chant.

"_**Dies irae, dies illa Solvet Saeclum in favilla Teste Satan cum sibylla. Quantos tremor est futurus Quando Vindex est venturus Cuncta stricte discussurus. Dies irae, dies illa!" **_

Day of wrath, day of anger will dissolve the world in ashes As foretold by Satan and the Sibyl. There will be great trembling when he shall come as a strict avenger in all things. That day is the day of wrath!

The man back on his feet flinched at the onslaught of words regurgitating out of Stiles mouth. Stiles felt his hand reach out, powerful and still. His fingers wrapped around an imaginary object in the air and squeezed. He never once stopped repeating the chant,

"_**Dies irae, dies illa Solvet Saeclum in favilla Teste Satan cum sibylla. Quantos tremor est futurus Quando Vindex est venturus Cuncta stricte discussurus. Dies irae, dies illa!**__**Dies irae, dies illa Solvet Saeclum in favilla Teste Satan cum sibylla. Quantos tremor est futurus Quando Vindex est venturus Cuncta stricte discussurus. Dies irae, dies illa!..."**_

Stiles lips moved quickly and with a sharp tongue. The man started to fall back before Stiles lifted his hand up, this time feeling a weight of resistance. The man followed his hand and rose in the air, gripping his neck. Stiles felt himself overflow with power as his chanting continued. Soon the man stopped struggling and grabbed at one of his crosses around his neck. Stiles could see his lips move but could hear nothing. The weight became increasingly heavy and Stiles body was faltering underneath it. Stiles felt the muscles in his arms ripping as it was being forced down. The man's feet touched the floor and his voiced boomed.

"_Regna terrae, cantata Deo, psallite Cernunnos, Regna terrae, cantata Dea psallite Aradia. caeli Deus, Deus terrae, Humiliter majestati gloriae tuae supplicamus Ut ab omni infernalium spirituum potestate, Laqueo, and deceptione nequitia."_

Kingdoms of the Earth, Sing ye to God, sing praises Cernunnos, Kingdoms of the Earth, Sing praises to the Goddess of Arad, heavens, O God , the God of the earth, humbly by the majesty of thy glory we implore that from all of the infernal spirits, from their snares and corrupt words with subtlety.

Stiles felt a force surrounding him making him feel claustrophobic and soon his hands were wrapped around his own neck, forcing him to stop his chant.

"_Exorcizamus you omnis immundus spiritus Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio, Infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,"_

We exorcise you , every impure spirit, every satanic power, every incursion, the infernal adversary, every legion,

Stiles interrupted the chant by sending bellows from his throat in a dark low tone that shook the room_. _

"_**Sanctus Satanas, Sanctus Dominus Diabolus Sabaoth. Satanas – venire! Satanas – venire! Ave, Satanas, ave Satanas. Tui sunt caeli, Tua est terra, Ave Satanas!"**_

Holy Satan, Holy Lord, devil's might. Satan come! Satan come! Hail, Satan, Hail Satan. Thine are the heavens, thine is the earth, Hail Satan!

Stiles flung his hand out with force, and a wave of anger was sent towards the Crusader. He tried to move from the path but it was too late, he was sent flying back and slammed against the wall. Stiles fingers again wrapped around the object in the air, but this time he was pushing, not holding up. The man tried grabbing at his neck but his hands were sent back to the wall. The Crusader tried desperately to grab at his cross and began chanting in between wheezing.

"_Omnis and congregatio secta diabolica... Ab insidiis diabolic... libera nos, dominates…"_

Of all the congregations of the sect of the devil… deliver us… From the snares of the devil, and his domain…

Stiles felt his feet launching forward, and his arm was thrusting forward, sending the man further back into the wall. Stiles envisioned the man's lungs and started chanting again.

"_**Oriens splendor lucis aeternae Et Lucifer justitae: veni Et illumine sedentes in tenebris Et umbra mortis."**_

The East, splendor of eternal light and the day star justice: but I've come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death

The man's face turned a painful blue and his chanting stopped. Stiles laughed as the man squirmed against the wall knowing his lungs were being crushed with unbelievable pressure. In any other person this would have killed them instantly, but the Crusader seemed to be prepared for Stiles attacks, making him an annoying insect that needed to be crushed. Stiles felt this and sent all his anger to his body. With his other arm Stiles waved over Derek. He heard a few pops and then Derek inhaled viciously before going into a coughing fit. Stiles refocused on the man and the words came out faster.

"_**Oriens splendor lucis aeternae Et Lucifer justitae: veni Et illumine sedentes in tenebris Et umbra mortis."**_

And again Stiles repeated it, even faster still. His tongue sliced through the air and his jaw jolted with vicious accents. His voice grew lower and lower, past the range he was able to produce on his own.

"_**Orienssplendor lucis aeternae EtLucifer justitaeveni Et illumine sedentesin tenebris Et umbra mortis!"**_

Stiles then felt his focus going from the Crusaders lungs to his heart. Stiles squeezed his fingers into a fist and stepped forward.

"_**ORIENSSPLENDORLUCIS AETERNAEETLUCIFER JUSTIAEVENIETILLUMINE SEDENTESINTENEBRISETUMBRA MORTIS!"**_

Stiles pushed forward again. _Yes. Finally. I'm helping. You will not get away with messing with my friends. Not while I have all of this… power! _Stiles let out a laugh and threw his hand to the side, sending the man flying into the kitchen table. Stiles thrust his arm up and the man was sent to the ceiling, this time the force sent ruby's from his mouth. Stiles punched the floor and the man was sent crushing against the floor. Stiles repeatedly punched the floor, blood coming from his knuckles in the process, but it didn't bother him because the sounds of the Crusaders bones breaking was like music to his ears.

"Stiles!"

Stiles felt something wrap around his leg and he looked to find Derek grabbing at him, blood running down his mouth.

"What are you doing! This isn't you! You're going to kill him!"

Stiles shook his head. "He deserves nothing less. He was going to kill you, and I will not allow that!"

Stiles raised his hand again, throwing it down. This time on the way down it was caught by Derek's hand. The warmth radiated through his arm, causing him to rip it away from Derek. Derek looked at him and shook his head.

"Stiles? Where did you go? This isn't the Stiles I know."

Stiles felt pressure in his heart again, but this time it turned into the warmth he knew all to well. _Derek? What do you mean I'm not myself? _Stiles looked around and realized he was killing the man, putting him through the same pain as the baby, as Derek. He was like one of those monsters! Stiles breathed in Derek's stare and soon he was in complete control of his body, the freezing cold receding back into his bones before vanishing completely.

"Derek? Are you ok?"

Stiles knelt down to assess him but Derek was already trying to stand.

"Yeah, thanks to you. I couldn't heal from what that guy di—"

Derek suddenly reached for his throat and Stiles whipped his head back to see the Crusader was standing again.

"Derek!"

Stiles reached out to try and pull him away from the Crusader but he was stuck in that area of space. Stiles body started to fill with fear again, losing himself in Derek's eyes.

"Stiles! Don't! You can't become a monster!"

Stiles knew Derek wouldn't like it but he didn't have another choice. _That Crusader must DIE! _Stiles had a flashback to when he summoned Derek. _Derek teleported from one side of his room to the other._ Maybe he could use that to get Derek out of that hold, buying him time to go through the spells he memorized to see if he could use one.

"Hear from the shadows your master's call, join me in battle my eternal Thrall."

Stiles whipped his palm up and threw the orb onto the floor, causing it to shatter into a rift. Derek glowed purple and then disappeared, resurfacing through the rift, thankfully not choking. Stiles sighed in relief and Derek shot a look at Stiles and then at the Crusader and then down at his hands.

"I'm still in control?"

Stiles gasped. "You must not need to be forced to protect me."

Stiles closed his eyes and opened them again, knowing they were now purple. He thought about the spells he read with those eyes and suddenly they started appearing in the air. Stiles shuffled through them and then read the one he wanted out loud.

"With what served my master well, I now instill to you. Strength!"

Stiles felt some of his energy drain into the air. Derek fell back and grabbed at his head.

"Derek?"

Derek shook his head. "Whoa, what was that?"

Stiles said nervously, "It should make you stronger."

Derek nodded, "I can tell it has."

The Crusader launched himself from the corner of the room at Stiles, and in a blink of an eye the Crusader was inches from him. The Crusader pulled back his fist and launched it at his gut but before it made contact Derek was there to intercept it with a punch, sending the man twisting back. Derek growled and turned into his wolf, clothes falling off and blue eyes glowing. The man scurried to his feet and reached for his cross, but Derek was too fast and was at his throat before the he could chant anything. Derek ripped at the man and tore off a chunk of flesh. Claws went furiously through the air, cutting cloth and flesh like butter. The man let out a scream before all that was left were gurgling sounds from his corpse as he hit the floor. Derek pawed away from the man and shifted back into human form. Stiles flushed and felt his heart flutter at the sight of Derek naked in front of him and soon the warmth he had felt turned into hot sweating. Derek frowned at Stiles who was just starring away at him.

"What?"

Stiles tried to swallow the lump in his throat, "You're naked…"

Derek nodded, the painful moaning of Stiles, Liam, and Kira filling the gap.

"Ok well you're clothes are there so," Stiles pointed at the pile that was left behind when Derek shifted, "Back to the shadows I wish you withdraw, I release you now my eternal thrall."

Derek glowed purple but other than that nothing changed. He walked towards Stiles with a grin and then grabbed his clothes. Stiles felt his entire body pulsing as Derek slipped his underwear back on in what Stiles thought was a suggestive way, but he really didn't have any experience to back him up on that. Derek pulled up his pants and looked back up at Stiles,

"So how did you heal me?"

Stiles shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I didn't have control of myself during that whole thing… I just fueled it I guess. I don't even know what I was saying…"

Derek's face turned concerned and puzzled, "That doesn't sound too good."

Lydia interrupted with, "If you're finish gawking at him you can help out the rest of us Stiles."

Stiles felt his face flush and instead of defending himself he ran back to the kitchen where his book laid and flipped through the pages, purple eyes searching.

"Found it! Dark healing shadows wash over you. Repair mind, body, and spirit."

Stiles felt more of his energy dissipate as the words traveled through the air. Stiles could feel as it went into Scott, Liam, and Kira. As the spell corrected the injuries it took more and more energy from Stiles. Scott tried to get up but was still out of breath, Kira was lifting herself up with the help of her Katana, and Liam hunched over on his side coughing up the remainder of the blood inside his lungs. Stiles looked back at the Crusader, half convinced he wasn't dead, and saw a light glow around his body.

"Derek, look."

Stiles pointed over at the man and Derek turned. The Crusader was soon glowing brightly and the light he was giving off was blinding. After a few more seconds of growing intensity the man was gone.

Kira hobbled over to the two of them.

"That was just like the Oni."

Stiles nodded, "Yeah."

Stiles felt an overwhelming rush of blood to his head and then blacked out. He woke up in Derek's bed and felt light headed. He tried to get up but his vision started blacking out, which he took as a sign to stay down. Stiles could hear through the cracked door that everyone was still there. He heard Liam whispering loudly,

"Well until we find out why we couldn't heal there's nothing we can do. We'll need him to help us."

Then Scott chimed in, "I agree, but I just don't want to put him in danger."

There was silence before Derek added, "I have faith in him."

There was more silence before Lydia spoke up, Stiles envisioned her with a pissed off face and was glad he wasn't in there.

"You and I need to talk Derek. Right now."

Stiles heard footsteps coming towards the bedroom and pretended like he was asleep. He heard the door crack and then aggressive whispering.

"What is going on between the two of you? I don't need supernatural powers to know that you two are acting very friendly towards each other."

"What are you getting at Lydia?"

"Listen I've known Stiles for a while now, and I've caught on to the act. If you and him are getting together I'm just warning you now, you break his heart, I will destroy you. Which leads me to my question. What are you're feelings towards Stiles?"

Stiles felt the air escape his lungs and his head started to burn. _Did she just say that!? _Derek breathed in deeply before answering in a low troubled voice.

"I don't know."

_Don't know! Did he just say that? _He couldn't believe it. He might actually have a shot with Derek?

"Well it's obvious that he has feelings for you... just don't hurt him if you decided it's mutual."

They left the room and Stiles felt a bit of relief and panic. Derek might actually have feelings towards him. Stiles was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice Scott coming into his room. Stiles felt the bed shift and he rolled over to find Scott looking at him. Scott looked sad and a bit guilty,

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Sorry I wasn't there…"

"You have nothing to apologize for. I didn't tell you, you had no way of knowing."

"How are you feeling?"

"Ok I guess… still a little light headed. How about you?"

"Good. Crazy isn't it? You and that book?"

Stiles let out a hallow laugh, "Yeah. Crazy's a good word for it."

Scott sighed and laid down next to Stiles, which wasn't weird, he always did that when they were the only two in the room, Scott was his best friend and all. He felt like he betrayed Scott and that didn't sit well in his stomach.

"Hey, I'm sorry for not calling you. I just didn't think you wanted to be bothered and because…"

Stiles let out a sigh and Scott interjected, "Because you were with Derek."

Stiles felt embarrassed again, _did everyone know about this expect for him? _

"How is everyone guessing that? I didn't even figure it out until I woke up in his bed today."

Scott shrug, "You kinda always had a thing for Derek. Ever since you first saw him in the woods. You always concerned yourself with his safety, you know?"

Stiles exhaled. He was frustrated because he'd been living thinking it was normal to have feelings like that for Derek.

"But I feel the same about you."

"No way, we have a best friend kinda bond but you and Derek? That's something different."

Stiles let out a whine and rolled back over to the window.

"Listen the reason I wanted to come in here was to tell you this. You should follow your heart and not be afraid to take a chance… and I support you in whatever you decide to do. And if you need to talk to anyone I'm always a phone call away, even if you don't think I want you to call I do. Like honestly, I don't want to hear that excuse ever again. Ok?"

Stiles laughed lightly, "Yeah I got it. Thanks Scott. You're the best."

Scott put his hand on Stiles shoulder, "I know dude," and after patting him jokingly he left with, "Oh and we decided we should have someone with you at all times. So you'll be staying at Derek's. Considering how you're a beacon we don't want you to be at your house and endanger your Dad. Plus it will give you two some well needed time alone."

Before Stiles could ask any questions or offer alternatives Scott was out of the room. _Great. _He heard everyone say their goodbyes and leave, leaving Derek and him all alone.


	4. Chapter 4

"How are you feeling?"

Derek peeked his head inside his room to check on Stiles.

"Good…"

Derek nodded, disappearing behind the door frame.

"Derek?"

Derek fully opened the door this time, "Yeah?"

Stiles felt this ball of anxiety filling up his lungs and he had to force himself to take a breath.

"Can we talk?"

Derek squinted, "We are talking."

Stiles rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean."

Derek entered his room and sat on the corner of the bed opposite Stiles.

"What?"

Stiles thought the words he wanted to say but nothing was coming out of his mouth, which was open and making the whole conversation awkward. Derek had his eyebrow arched, waiting for some form of audible communication. Stiles let out a frustrating moan, Scott's words echoed in his head. _You shouldn__'__t be afraid to take a chance. _Stiles screamed out,

"I like you as more than just a friend!"

Derek's eyebrow arched even further and his face went blank, which made getting a read on him impossible. Stiles' heart started to race and he clenched the sheets, waiting for Derek to react… anything was better than the blankness he was giving off. Derek looked down and rubbed his palms on his pants. He looked back up at Stiles and his face was conflicted.

"Are you sure about that?"

Stiles nodded, "Yes. At first I thought it was because of the book… but, well this warmth I get from you has to mean something. And I think it might not have been always warmth, but you always made me feel something… unique to you. I feel safe with you."

Derek gave a half smile. "If you're sure then I guess I can admit to liking you too."

Stiles heart fluttered. "No way!"

Derek frowned at Stiles outburst, "What?"

Stiles shrugged, "I didn't think I'd have a shot with you. What about all the girls you've dated?"

Derek let out a hallow laugh, "My choice in women have never been good. Well you should sleep. We can talk about this more tomorrow."

Derek got up from the corner of the bed and started towards the door.

"Derek?"

Derek turned back around.

"Could you sleep here again? When you leave it gets cold."

Derek paused before nodding. He left the room and came back with a water for Stiles before getting into the shower. Stiles laid in bed listening to the sound of the water, knowing Derek was butt naked inside. Derek came back out in just a towel around his waist, Stiles couldn't help look at his glistening abs and happy trail. He realized Derek was watching him,

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Could you turn around though? I have to change."

Stiles felt a bit of bravery take hold of him,

"Well you saw me naked. I think it's only fair for me to see you."

Derek squinted at Stiles as if he said something stupid.

"That was an accident. I don't owe yo—"

Derek went silent and his face was withdrawn. Stiles felt the cold in his bones and knew what Derek was thinking.

"Come on, this wasn't your fault. You didn't know what would happen, and I volunteered."

"That's not true. I called you. I could have called a pack meeting and discussed it, but I acted without thinking."

Stiles crawled towards Derek and sat on the corner of the bed.

"I'm here aren't I?"

Derek shrugged, "Yeah."

"Ok, so don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Derek looked down at the floor.

"I'm serious. Don't blame yourself for this."

"I don't think that's possible. I could have handled it differently. I could've… put some value to your life."

There was silence. Stiles felt bad for not thinking about how Derek felt.

"Do you?"

Derek looked back up at Stiles.

"What?"

"Do you value my life?"

"Yes."

Stiles stood up and moved close to Derek.

"That's good to hear. Then there is only one thing we can do. Stop these Crusaders."

Derek smiled, "Yeah. And we will."

Derek leaned in and before Stiles could react their lips met. It wasn't the ideal first kiss but still, he just kissed Derek Hale! Derek pushed against Stiles' lips and made him take a few steps back until he hit the bed, falling back onto it. Derek smiled and walked over to his nightstand. Derek grabbed a pair of underwear from the drawer and looked back at Stiles. Derek pulled the towel off him and let it fall down. Derek's butt was perfect, it was tone and tan. Stiles bit his bottom lip wanting to see more but he knew Derek was only teasing him. Derek bent down and pulled on his underwear.

"And now we're even. Now move, you're sitting on my side of the bed."

"Fine, but that was just a cruel way of going about it."

Derek got into bed and Stiles tried to sleep, but after just being kissed that was basically impossible. _Such a tease. _Eventually sleep took over and Stiles entered another world. There was a loud burst of thunder and the area opened up to him. It was dark, but there were torches lining a muddy road. The rain was hitting Stiles face and it felt ice cold. Stiles followed the road with his eyes and found what looked like a village gathering up ahead. Stiles ran towards the people, as he got closer he started to hear their voices. They were screaming, "Kill the witch!" Stiles eventually got to everyone and turned to a woman in the back of the crowd.

"What's happening here?"

The woman ignored him, her eyes were fixated on something in the center of the circle of people.

"Hello?"

Again, nothing.

Stiles tried to poke the woman but his hand went right through her body and she vanished into the air.

"Oh my God!"

Stiles recoiled back, and accidentally bumped into someone. Instead of making contact he fell through the person and found himself in a puddle. He saw a cloud of what looked like dust fade into the air. _This must be a dream. _Stiles got up, his soaking wet clothes weighed him down. It was cold, but Stiles was getting use to the freezing cold. Walking to the outer ring of the circle Stiles touched the shoulder of some man with a torch, he instantly vanished and the torch fell to the floor. Stiles picked it up and held it out in front of him to make the darkness visible. He pushed his way through the circle of people, who were all still screaming. Making it to the front he saw a wooden stage with a wooden crane about 9 feet tall. There was a man that looked very familiar to him standing on the edge of the platform, hands behind his back. The man paced as he spoke.

"There is no room for witches! Not in the new world! Not in Salem! We have an obligation to God! We must purify not only our hearts but this town, and this world, from darkness! If not us then who?"

From behind the man there was a woman, with a noose fixed around her neck. Stiles gasped, she was standing on a wooden crate. _This is an execution? _

"Hey!"

Stiles screamed at the man, running to the platform and up the stairs. Stiles reached the stage and stood looking at the man, who didn't acknowledge him. Stiles looked over at the woman, she was staring at him.

"Can you see me?"

The girl nodded.

"What's happening?"

"The town has charged me with witchcraft. So I'm to hang by the neck, till dead."

She said it as if death didn't bother her. Stiles shook his head.

"That's horrible! Let me help you!"

Stiles ran over to the woman but paused inches from her.

"But if I touch you, you might disappear like the rest of them."

The woman laughed, "It's too late for me. This is merely a vision. For some reason you're meant to see this. Maybe so you can avoid the same fate."

"But I'm not a witch."

The woman laughed again, this time she caught the attention of the exorcist.

"Witch? No. Warlock? Yes. I can feel the darkness radiating from you."

The exorcist stepped between Stiles and the witch.

"For your crimes against all things holy you will be sent to God to be judged. May He have mercy on your corrupted soul!"

"No!"

Stiles ran towards the man and pushed him, making contact with him. As they both fell to the floor Stiles entered another world. He hit the floor of a church. When he looked around he found himself in the Vatican, with seven men standing in attention opposite the Pope. The men had on the same clothes as the Crusader! _Are these the Crusaders? _The Pope finished his lecture and the men all kneeled down. The Pope went to each one and did the sign of the cross over them. Suddenly the door from behind Stiles shot open and a man ran towards the Pope.

"Your Holiness! We have an issue!"

The Pope finished with the last Crusader and calmly stepped up to the man, who already passed Stiles on the way over.

"What is it my son?"

"The Shade. It's been activated!"

"What!?"

"We just received word. It's been tracked to a place called Beacon Hills."

One of the Crusaders stood up back into attention.

"Your Holiness, let me handle this. I will go and take back the book."

The Pope turned to the Crusader.

"You may go. Be carful and my God watch over you."

The man bowed and ran off towards the door. _This must have been recent. He was the one we fought! _Stiles didn't pay attention to his surroundings and made contact with the Crusaders shoulder. Stiles fell back, through the floor, and back up to his feet. Stiles found himself in a small office, with the Pope and the messenger.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

"Then we need to send more. Send word to Justin and Luke, they must go and do what their brother could not. And… if they are to fail too," the Pope paused, "Then you must send the other four immediately. The longer the book is active the larger the threat. I don't wish to send the rest of my holy guards but if I must then I shall."

_They are sending more of them! I need to tell Derek! _Stiles tried to send himself back, to wake up, but he couldn't. He was stuck. With the messenger gone the Pope sat down in his chair.

"I can feel your presence."

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes. Why are you here?"

"I don't really know."

"Well you must be aware that I just sent more Crusaders to obtain that book."

"And to kill me?"

"If that's what it takes."

The Pope stood up and walked in Stiles direction,

"You are corrupted by Satan, I can't have you walking free in this world."

Stiles stepped back and hit the wall. _I need to get back! Derek! Derek! _The Pope kept approaching Stiles.

"It was not smart to come here unprepared. You are stepping foot on holy ground."

"I didn't mean to come here. I didn't ask for any of this!"

"It's to late now. You are to lost to be forgiven. You have made the bond and that can only be undone with your death. I'm sorry my son. But you have fallen from Heaven."

_DEREK! _Stiles felt something pulling him and suddenly he woke up in Derek's bed. Derek was on top of him.

"Stiles? Are you ok?"

"They're coming! Two more Crusaders! From the Vatican!"

"It's ok Stiles. It was just a dream."

Stiles shook his head. "No it was real! They are coming for me!"

"Us. They won't get close to you. I promise. I'll get everyone over in the morning again. We will figure something out."

"Derek it was crazy. I was sent to Salem, and I saw a witch! She called me a warlock. I tried to help her but I was sent to the Vatican. They knew the book was activated and the Pope sent someone after it! That was the first Crusader! And now he's sending two more. If they fail he's sending the remaining four. And then he told me he was going to kill me because I formed a bond with the book."

Derek let go of Stiles and settled back on his side of the bed.

"This is good news Stiles."

"How?"

"It means we know what they are going to do. So we can stop them."

"But we could barely fight off one."

"That was because you were just watching. But when you helped me, it was easy. We can do it. But we need your help. We were talking about it while you were out. The only way to stop them is by using that book. I hate to ask…"

"I'll try my hardest."

Derek nodded and they both laid back down. Stiles woke up to an empty bed. When he walked out of the bedroom he found everyone sitting around the table, Scott, Kira, Lydia, Liam, Derek.

"Hey everyone."

Everyone said hello and Scott asked, "Hey dude, how are you feeling?"

"Good."

Derek informed Stiles that he told them all about his dream last night.

Lydia said she did some more research and Stiles dream supported her findings. The Crusaders were formed back in 1692.

"Based on how the Crusader died, I'd say they are the original ones, probably sworn to serve the Pope. Meaning they aren't human anymore. I'd also go as far as to say that they aren't even bound to this world."

Liam was scratching his head. "What does that mean?"

Lydia gave a 'isn't it obvious' look to everyone. "Meaning that the reason you can't heal is because they're not attacking your physical bodies, but your spiritual ones."

Scott's eyes widened. "Like our souls!?"

Lydia shrugged. "Maybe. I don't have any proof, but it would make sense. If there bodies aren't really in this world, it would make sense that they wouldn't be fighting our physical beings."

Stiles nodded. "That makes sense! That must be why I could heal you guys. I'm in the same world as them with this book."

Lydia nodded. "Exactly. Which is all the more reason that we need you to use that book."

Stiles took in a deep breath. "If it will help you guys, then I'll do it."

Scott added, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm sure there is an alternative."

"It's ok. I want to."

Derek and Stiles met eyes, and Stiles was reassured. He could do it.

"Stiles?" Kira looked over at him. "If you are going to pull this off you need to practice. We can't have you passing out, and we need to research alternatives to killing these Crusaders in the physical world."

"Derek," Lydia got up from the table, "help Stiles. If he can summon you then you two need to work on how to fight side by side."

Derek nodded and walked over to Stiles.

"Come on."

They sat on the couch and Stiles opened his book and started shifting through the pages.

"Ok, now what were those spells you were using last time? Where you gave me all that power?"

Stiles turned to the page and pointed at the spell. "This one?"

Derek looked at the page and then back up at Stiles.

"Um, it's in Latin. What does it say?"

"With what served my master well, I now instill to you. Strength."

Stiles felt the words pour out of him and then some of his energy escaped into the air and into Derek. Derek looked at his hands and flexed them.

"Yeah. This one. Ok. What else can you do?"

Stiles turned the page. "I can heal you like I did last time. It looks like I can also phase you?"

"What do you mean?"

Stiles shrugged. "Lets find out. Huh, that's weird."

"What?"

"It's only two words. Shadows."

Stiles felt another wave of energy leave him and enter the air. It went towards Derek and then he vanished.

"Whoa! Derek!?"

"Did it work?"

"I don't know! Ok. Next part. Appear!"

Stiles looked at the table in front of him and after the energy left him Derek appeared on top of the table, falling a few inches onto it.

"Are you ok!?"

Derek got up and rubbed his back. "Yeah."

Stiles laughed. "That's so cool!"

Derek nodded. "Ok now you try to string them all together."

"Ok. Here we go."

Stiles stood up and faced the other side of the room. "Shadows." Stiles felt the spell make contact with Derek, "Appear!" Derek showed up in the kitchen. This time he was standing.

Scott gawked from the table. "Dude! That's so cool! Do me!"

Stiles laughed, "Ok! Shadows. Appear!"

Scott vanished and reappeared on the couch next to Stiles.

They laughed and then Stiles world went black. Stiles woke up a few seconds later, just in time to feel his head make contact with the floor. He sat up and rubbed his head.

"Ow."

Scott kneeled down next to him, "Sorry man!"

Stiles shook his head, "It's fine. It wasn't your fault."

Kira interjected, "Keep practicing. You did four spells before you passed out."

Stiles nodded. "Yeah and some of them felt like they took more energy."

Derek made his way back to Stiles, "Ok so lets keep looking through the book. Let's make a list of the ones that will be useful while you recover."

Stiles nodded. _I'll be useful. I won't give up now._

Stiles purple eyes tore through the book and he marked the pages he thought would be useful. When his headache passed he turned to Derek who was deep in his family's book.

"I can track people, I think it's how the Crusaders are tracking me. It might be a good idea to start tracking everyone, in case any of us get attacked."

Derek agreed and watched Stiles intently, making sure if he fainted he wouldn't hurt himself again.

"This spell needs to be channeled and it looks like it will need a lot of energy. Ok here we go. North, south, east, west, north, south, east, west…" Stiles felt a large amount of energy leaving his body and he felt light headed almost instantly, his vision was slowly turning dark. _I need to focus. I can't faint again. _Stiles thought about how Derek was counting on him. He couldn't let him down. Stiles made contact with Derek and started moving his attention to Scott. He noticed that the farther the person was the more energy was needed to reach them. He made contact with Scott and another wave of energy was taken from him. Next Kira, Liam, lastly Lydia. "… south, east west. Track." All of a sudden the energy required was ten fold what was already being asked of him and he felt like throwing up. He sat back down on the couch and grabbed his head.

Derek looked at him with concern, "Are you ok?"

Stiles nodded, "Just light headed. I think it worked."

"How can you tell for sure?"

"I should be able to track you with this spell," Stiles pointed at the page, "but I might pass out if I cast it right now."

"Well," Lydia started speaking from the table, her eyes fixed on her laptop, "while you're waiting I think we should talk about what we plan on doing tonight."

Scott looked over at her, "What do you mean? What's happening tonight?"

"My point. Do you think the Crusaders are going to wait for all of us to be together again to attack?"

Kira nodded, "You have a point. So you think they're going to wait till night?"

"I don't know but I think we should be ready for the possibility."

Derek sighed, "Fine. You all can stay the night, but no one goes in my room."

Stiles heart dropped when he heard and he starred at Derek in disbelief, "But…"

Derek gave Stiles an angry 'I'm not talking to you shut up' look with blushing cheeks so Stiles quickly looked down at his book with a smile on his face.

Lydia nodded, "Good. Well in that case let's get everything we need for a few nights and meet back here."

Everyone agreed and left, everyone expect Stiles. After Derek closed the door on the last person Stiles blurted out, "So I'm allowed in your room right? Like at night? In your bed?"

Derek rolled his eyes and sat down at the couch with an exhausted "Yes."

He waited a bit and then continued, "So did that spell work?"

"Oh yeah, um. Lets find out."

Stiles closed his eyes and focused channeling in his head _north south east west north south… _He focused on Scott and when he opened his eyes he was looking through Scott's eyes.

"It worked!"

Stiles was overjoyed, he felt useful. He stopped channeling the spell and Scott's perspective faded back into his own.

"So what did you see?"

"I saw what Scott was seeing."

Derek nodded, "That will be useful… um… good job."

Stiles eyes widened, "Did you just… compliment me?"

Derek looked like that question was a personal attack on his character, "Yeah, why is that so shocking?"

Stiles shrugged, "I don't know. Never heard that from you before."

Derek frowned and said under his breath, "Well that's because I was trying to hide—"

Derek closed his mouth and darted his eyes away from Stiles. Stiles looked at him inquisitively.

"Hide what?"

Derek shook his head, "Forget it."

Derek grabbed himself a soda from the refrigerator. Stiles laughed at his pathetic attempt to dodge a question,

"Oh my God tell me right now! What were you hiding?"

Derek shook his head and his cheeks flushed which only encouraged Stiles more. Stiles ran towards Derek,

"You're blushing? No way! Oh come on Derek!"

Stiles grabbed Derek's arm and playfully pulled on it. Derek didn't even sway, he was like a brick wall.

"If I tell you, you have to promise me you'll stay silent for five minutes."

Stiles swatted the air, "Fine fine. What is it?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "I was trying to hide my feelings for you. That's why I never complemented you."

Stiles flushed and started sweating. His jaw dropped to the floor, "So does that mea—"

Derek put his hand over Stiles mouth, "You promised."

Stiles pulled Derek's hand away, "Yeah but you can't expect me to—"

Derek covered his mouth with his other hand, "Nope. Five minutes. And don't give me that look, I'm far too heartless to be swayed by puppy dog eyes."

Stiles squinted angrily and pulled his face free.

"But that's not what I was exp—"

Stiles heart dropped to the floor. He expected Derek to free one of his hands and cover his mouth again, but their fingers were interlocked. What was keeping Stiles quiet was Derek's mouth, which was pressed against Stiles lips. Derek's lips were soft and the slightest taste of soda lingered on them. Stiles saw the blackness creeping in his peripheral vision, and soon after he blacked out, only momentarily sampling Derek's lips, again. Stiles woke up on Derek's bed, with Derek sitting on the corner.

"So you're awake?"

Stiles felt a brief moment of sadness but then he was angry. 

"That's so not fair!"

Derek laughed, "What?"

"You kissing me! That wasn't fair. I had no control over that. I completely blacked out. We need a redo."

"You want a redo?"

Stiles face flushed, "Yeah."

Derek nodded, "Ok."

Derek crawled over to Stiles and went on top of him. Derek slid his fingers in between Stiles', pushing them outward. Derek ran his leg down Stiles' and pushed outward, nestling his knee in Stiles' inner thigh. Those blue eyes melted any ice that was left in Stiles body. He felt his face turn red and a wave of embarrassment washed over him. Stiles bit his lower lip in anticipation and Derek inched in till their lips met. Derek pulled back a little but Stiles pushed his lips against Derek's, gripping his hands. Derek's mouth widened and Stiles hesitated for a moment, but he trusted Derek and mimicked. Derek pulled away and Stiles gasped for air. He didn't want it to stop but his body was screaming to breath.

"There. Happy?"

Stiles nodded still trying to catch his breath. Derek smirked and loosened his grip on Stiles fingers.

"What is it?"

"We have company."

Stiles frowned, "Nooooooo. How long was I out for? How far away are they?"

A knock with Lydia saying, "Derek help me with my bags!" came from the front door. Derek laughed and rolled off Stiles, leaving the room with,

"Don't worry, we can always continue tonight."


End file.
